THE TRAVELLER.

Patea Mail, 9 October 1880, Page 5 (Supplement)

THE TRAVELLER.

HONOLULU. Honolulu, the capital of the Hawaiian or Sandwich Islands, is now a civilised and pleasant city, while the natural attractions of the islands themselves are many and varied. One need not now fear the fate of poor Captain Cook, Most of the natives, of whom there are 50,000, are clothed in semiEuropean style; the men in coats and trousers of nankeen, and the women more picturesquely clad in long robes fastened round the neck, and pretty often of pink or some other bright colour, 'There is a white population of some ten thousand souls scattered over the islands, a largo proportion of whom are English and American. Honolulu is the Government centre and residence of King Kalakau, who used to be called ‘ Calico’in the United States, and who, in fact, is a very slightly-tinted, good-looking and most intelligent gentleman. The exQueen Emma, who visited England some years ago, has a villa beautifully situated a few miles out of town. The king devotes his energies to bettering the condition of his people, and some few years ago, when the money was voted to build a new palace, declined to accept it, at least for two years. The Hawaiian Parliament consists of a House of 17 nobles and 28 commoners, who, strange to say, sit in the same hall, their votes being equal in weight. 'There arc always several Europeans or Americans in this council.

A LEPER-HOUSE IN CYPRUS. Mrs. Stevenson thus describes her visit to one of those sepulchres for the living :—‘ We saw nothing to make us think that the colony differed from ethers in any respect. On calling out something in Creek, a crowd of men and women poured out from different doorways. They seemed well and comfortably clothed in the usual outdoor costume of the natives. It was only after a few minutes’ scrutiny that I could perceive the appalling nature of their complaint. There seemed to bo here two distinct classes of leprosy—the paler, or rather yellow, sufferer, and the bloated and purple one. Of the white leprosy one reads of in the Bible there was none. And I daresay that is why at first I could hardly believe that the people around me were afflicted with any disease; for I expected to see them ‘as -white as snow.’ The skin of the first class of sufferer had a parched, withered look. It was drawn over the bones of the face, so as to look like a piece of brown parchment. The nose had sharpened till it stood out like a bone. In some, the features were drawn so much to one side that it gave the appearance of a senile smile, a ghastly contrast to the reality of the sufferings, This horrible grin affected mo more than anything else. I tried to look away from it, but it was useless; my eyes kept turning back with a painful fascination. The majority of ihe sufferers were those with a bloated appearance. In this case the skin had changed to a deep purple colour, with an unnaturally smooth and shiny surface. The face and head in one or two cases were swollen to such a size that no features at all were discernible. The eyes had closed up, the cheeks were puffed over the distended nose, and the mouth was represented by a small hole. The hands are generally first affected, especially about the wrist. A small white spot is first visible, then pain and stiffness felt in the various joints of the hands and feet, and in a short time the fingers become club-shaped, the hand assuming the appearance of a claw. The extremities become much swollen, and the hair and eyelashes fall off Ulceration sets in, and slowly, but surely, the destruction of the bones and cartilages goes on, till the state is such that the unfortunate being is unrecognisable by his nearest relations. The voices sounded harsh and husky; and this, I was told, is caused in nearly every case by ulceration of the throat. The fingers and toes of many had dropped off, the stumps only remaining. To glance at one of the latter, one would think it impossible that extremities had ever been attached to it, for there was not the faintest indication left of the existence of a joint.

My husband requested that the two worst cases should be pointed out to us. We were brought to a doorway, through which wc peeped, and were shown a man who lay moaning on a wooden trestle. Two women who were attending on him turned him towards the light. 1 could only take a single glance, and no more. Not a feature of any kind was discernable, and only by inflated movements, at regular intervals, of the cheeks, could we tell a living being lay before us. We could only trust that he was unconscious—that his condition was more appalling to the onlooker than to the actual sufferer himfelf. It was believed that he he quite an idiot; but as he could neither speak, nor see, nor smell, nor taste, nor even hear distinctly, it must have been hard to tell whether the brain was still conscious or not. Food was administered by pouring liquids down his throat; but every day even this was mercifully becoming more impossible. So wc could only hope that death would soon release him. They seemed kind to each other, those who were the least afflicted, helping and nursing the sick, or guiding the steps of the blind. On the whole, both men and women appeared to be tolerably contented.